ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, 21 OCTOBER
The Secretary-General departed for Pennsylvania in the morning of Tuesday, 21 October.
On his arrival in Pittsburgh to deliver the Ninth Heinz Distinguished Lecture, the Secretary-General was greeted by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Heinz Foundation, Bill Johnson. They proceeded to the Duquesne Club, where Mr. Johnson presented the Secretary-General with the H.J. Heinz Humanitarian Award, in recognition of the United Nations’ outstanding efforts to alleviate malnutrition among the children of the developing world.
Two children of Heinz employees, in Halloween dress, then presented the Secretary-General with a cheque for $10,000 as a contribution to UNICEF’s “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” campaign, which had actually begun in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1950.
Mr. Johnson then hosted a luncheon in honour of the Secretary-General attended by political, academic, business and community leaders. At that luncheon, the mayor of Pittsburgh, Tom Murphy, presented the Secretary-General with the keys of the city. The Secretary-General then had an off-the-record informal exchange with members of the audience.
After lunch, the Secretary-General went to the University of Pittsburgh to deliver his address.
He told the 2,500 people gathered there that he was confident that the United States would join other nations in pursuing a primary goal of the United Nations Charter, that of a secure world in which all human beings can live a safer, fuller, and more rewarding life.
“I believe profoundly that the United States and the United Nations need one another”, he said. Using Iraq as an illustration, he argued that peace, stability, and democracy in that country are more likely to be attained when States make common cause than when their efforts are fragmented.
“The war in Iraq upset a great many people”, he said, because the United States and the United Kingdom took military action without the support of the Security Council. People feared that “we might be moving back to the world as it existed before 1945 -– a world in which any nation with the power to use force felt free to do so whenever that seemed to suit its interests”.
But he repeated a challenge he had made during his General Assembly speech last month –- that it is up to all those who believe in a collective system of security to show that fears of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction can still be addressed more effectively through collective action.
“I believe we can find collective answers”, he stated, “even if it requires a hard look at the international rules, starting from first principles.”
He then asserted, “there can be no enterprise more worth engaging in at this time”.
He wrapped up, saying, “to some audiences that might sound a utopian vision. But to live in America is to be an optimist”.
“I feel confident”, he concluded, “that all of you will do your utmost to make it come true.” (See Press Release SG/SM/8955).
Following the speech, the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public and International Affairs was conferred upon the Secretary-General.
He then left Pittsburgh to fly to Madrid, where he would open the International Donors Conference on Iraq on Thursday, 23 October.